A Different Day
by Miss Peg
Summary: Maura wakes up the day after proposing to Jane...but her whole life has changed, and the people she thought she knew barely know who she is.
1. Chapter 1

**Author Note : I know...I have other stories I'm not writing quickly enough, I have one-shots to finish. But when inspiration hits, well, sometimes you've got to run with it. I'm not entirely sure where this story is going, so we'll have to see, but it's exciting me a little bit.**

* * *

Jane trailed her toes along Maura's ankle, her arm draped across her back. The soft purrs deep in her throats filled the silence. Maura turned onto her side, pulling the blanket with her as she edged closer to the fireplace.

"Don't," Jane said, wrapping her arms around Maura's shoulders and shifting her body until skin touched skin. "I hate when you move away after we have sex."

"I'm hot," Maura said, reaching out to the fireplace and closing the grate.

"I know." Jane proceeded to nibble her earlobe, placing one knee over the other side of Maura's body and cupping her breasts. She pressed her lips to the sensitive skin beneath Maura's ear, trailing kisses down her shoulder blade. "You're. So. Fucking. Hot."

"Again?" Maura asked, sighing. "I know our anniversary usually makes you particularly interested in my body, but I didn't realise an engagement would increase that further."

"Insatiable," Jane said, lowering herself against Maura's body and resting her elbows down on the floor. She chewed her bottom lip. "That's the word you're looking for. I'm insatiable, and why wouldn't I be? Two years together and you still surprise me with how amazing you are."

Maura raised an eyebrow, a light chuckle escaped her lips. "There was nothing unexpected about my proposal."

"I know, but that doesn't chance it. You amaze me and sometimes I wonder how I got so lucky."

"I think it's the other way around," Maura said.

"Nu-uh." Jane shook her head from side to side, her long, dark curls tickled Maura's skin. She rolled onto her side, her body still pressed against Maura's, her leg draped across Maura's Lower body. "Do you ever wonder what life would be like if we'd never met?"

A crease formed between Maura's eyebrows. "No, never."

"Liar."

She sighed. "I try not to."

"Why?"

"I don't see any reason to consider something that isn't reality." She turned onto her side. The heat in the room barely decreased despite putting the fire out. Maura placed a hand against Jane's cheek. "All that matters to me is this.

" _Maura_."

"No." Maura grasped at Jane's hand, forcing it away from her thighs and back up towards her chest. "Any time I think about it, it makes me sad. My life changed because I met you."

"You're still in the same job," Jane said. "You've moved house once. The only difference is that we're together."

"Isn't that reason enough?"

"I suppose."

"You make me happier than I could possibly have imagined."

"Aww, shucks." Jane let go of her hand and covered her face. "Now you're gonna make me cry, again."

"I don't want to think about what life would be like if we'd never met, because I know my life would be poorer for it."

Jane tossed her head back, a smile spread across her face. "You've already got a yes, Maura, there's no need to persuade me again."

"Wasn't trying to," Maura said, untangling herself from Jane's side and blowing out a couple of nearby candles.

"Is that my cue to shut up and go to sleep?" Jane asked into the darkness.

"It's your cue to kiss me," Maura said, crawling across the makeshift bed and over the top of Jane.

Edging closer, Jane's voice filled the air. "Yes, siree!"

x

Maura woke with a start, her heart pounding against her chest. She opened her eyes and reached for her cell phone. Her hand collided with a table she didn't recognise, she lifted her fingers higher and answered her cell.

"Isles," she said, rolling onto her back. She listened to the voice on the other end of the line, momentarily wondering why Jane wasn't on her own phone beside her. "Thank you."

"Work?" a voice asked from the other side of the bed. Maura froze. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, then opened them again. When did she climb into bed? And why was there a skylight above her head? She turned, stealing a glance at the person beside her. A head of short, sandy blonde hair surfaced, bright blue eyes stared back at her.

She screamed and jumped out of the bed, her cell phone tumbled to the floor beside her. "Who are you? Get out of my house!" A draft coated her skin, she glanced down and grabbed a blanket from a nearby chair. "Why am I naked?"

The man climbed out of the other side, the bedsheets slipped off his body revealing a very tanned, very naked body. Maura swallows a lump in her throat. She turned around, the whole room was completely different. The décor had changed; the windows were different. Her bathroom door was not where it should have been. Something wasn't right.

"Calm down, Maura," he said, his voice gruff, an unfamiliar accent.

"Where am I?" she asked. "Why did you bring me here? What's going on?"

"I was gonna ask ya the same thing, why ya so upset? You're the one who invited me over last night."

She wrapped the blanket tightly around her chest. Last night she was with Jane, on the floor of her lounge. Last night she got engaged to the woman she loved. Her finger was empty. She marched out into the hallway, her toes grew cold from the tiled flooring under foot. She stared out across the balcony at the living space, taking in every little detail of her unfamiliar surroundings. She didn't know where she was or why she was there, but she certainly didn't invite the man over.

"Come back to bed, love," he said, a mixture of accents made it impossible for her to place his voice. He followed her out into the hallway.

Turning, Maura covered her eyes. "Please put some clothes on."

"Oops, sorry love," he said, cupping his genitalia. "Bit o' morning wood, always happens with a beautiful lady like yerself."

Maura gritted her teeth and glanced through her fingers. "I need you to tell me who you are, and what I'm doing in this house."

"Very funny, love, you always said you weren't one for comedy. I don't know what you were on about, you're hilarious."

"I'm not using comedy, I'm serious. Where's Jane and how did I get here?"

" _Jane_? Jane who?"

Breathing in slowly, Maura clenched her fist. "Answer my questions before I call the police."

"Alright, alright," he said, holding his hands up. Maura glanced down, then covered her face again. He returned his hands to his groin. "Sorry, love, won't happen agin. My name's Otto."

"Otto who?"

"Otto Torbjörn."

"Where are we?"

He narrowed his eyes. "You going senile, love?"

"Where. Are. We?"

"Your apartment."

"My..." Maura paused. She glanced over the mezzanine, across the first floor of the duplex apartment. For a moment, she wondered if she'd banged her head and had somehow returned to an earlier part of her life. But she'd never been there before, and she certainly didn't know a man named Otto who sounded like he came from many different countries. The apartment was very modern, yet filled with various pieces of historical and contemporary artworks. "I don't understand."

"It's pretty simple," he said. "You live 'ere. You invited me over for sex, we had sex, fell asleep, now ya don't seem to have any idea who I am or what either of us are doing 'ere. That sound about right?"

She nodded slowly and stepped towards the edge of the balcony. His summary of her current situation did nothing to appease her worries. She didn't recognise the apartment at all, and if it wasn't for her collection of Tanzanian artwork hanging up on the far wall, she would have assumed it was Otto who was senile.

"You got a case?"

"Err." She gripped the edge of the metal balcony. She'd always wanted a duplex apartment with mezzanine. The phone call returned to mind. "Oh. Yes. I do."

"I'll let myself out," he said, slinging an arm around her waist and trailing kisses across the side of her neck. She grimaced. It didn't matter how attractive he was, or how close his naked body was in that moment, she couldn't betray Jane. Even if it looked like she already had.

She changed quickly, barely stopping to eat a plate of eggs Otto had prepared for her while she showered. She didn't speak, but she could feel him watching her. She felt sick. Not least because he still hadn't put any clothes on. The apron around his waist was not enough to blot the image of his entire body from her mind. Nothing made sense.

"See ya later, love," Otto shouted after her. She opened the door. "Don't forget ya keys."

She found a set by the door and scooped them up, barely glancing back at the unfamiliar man as she ran out onto the outdoor balcony. She got halfway down the stairs before turning back. If this was her apartment, her home, then she needed to know exactly where she lived. She retraced her steps and tried the key in the lock.

"Back so soon?" Otto asked from the couch, crossing his bare legs and covering himself with his hands.

She nodded, ignoring the man's incessant need for nakedness, and searched the living space for something of use. She picked up a book on gunshot wounds. "I forgot this."

"Right," he said. "Call me if ya want a booty call later."

"A…a booty call?" Maura grimaced and backed out of the door. "Bye, Otto."

She stood out the front, staring at the door, taking in every piece of information she could find. Twenty-six. She stalked up and down the balcony, moving past several other apartments. They all looked relatively similar from the front door. Eventually, she ran down the stairs and headed in the direction of what she could only assume would be the parking lot.

A dozen or so cars filled spaces, and not one of them looked like her Lexus. She checked her keys, and after pressing the unlock button a couple of times, watched a blue-grey Acura's lights flash. She tossed her bag into the back seat, thankful it had been easy to find, and set off to work, analysing every little detail of her journey.

x

At the crime scene, Maura walked through the long grass in the front yard of a small house, conscious of the damage the morning dew would do to her Jimmy Choos. The footpath had vanished under the excess foliage. Inside the door, she placed covers over her shoes.

"Morning, Vince," Maura said, stepping up beside Korsak.

He turned from his conversation with a man in a suit, and stared at her, narrowing his eyes momentarily. "Doctor Isles, it's _Detective Korsak_."

"I," she cleared her throat. "I apologise. Detective Korsak."

He resumed the conversation he was having, barely motioning towards the room where Maura assumed the body was. She followed his direction. The overwhelmed scent of decaying flesh hit her as she entered the room. The floorboards under foot were damaged. In a hole beneath them, lay a corpse.

"Do we know how long she's been here?" Maura asked, crouching down and pulling out a flashlight. She shone the light across the room and her heart leapt. Jane. She stood up and walked carefully around the outside of the hole in the floor. "Jane!"

"Err, do I know you?" Jane asked, her eyes creased at the edges.

"It's me," she said, a lump forming in the back of her throat. "Maura."

"Oh," Jane said, smiling. "You're the Queen of the Dead."

Gritting her teeth, Maura's hand shook at her sides. "Doctor Maura Isles."

"Sorry." Jane shrugged. "Probably shouldn't have called you that."

"You don't…recognise me?"

"Should I?"

"No." Maura breathed in slowly, her chest heaved as she let out her breath. The strength of her voice disappeared. "I guess not."

"Pretty gruesome, hey," Jane said, waving her hand around the room.

"Yeah." Maura cleared her throat again and flashed the light over the body. "I…you really don't know who I am?"

"Nah." Jane followed Maura back toward the doorway. "The house has been empty for a couple weeks. Nobody knows how she got here."

"You're still a detective, though, aren't you?"

Jane scoffed. "Err, yeah. Last time I looked."

"But you don't recognise me."

"I don't understand why you keep asking me that," Jane said. "I've only just transferred to homicide. I don't know everyone here yet."

"You…" Maura's voice drifted off. She turned off the flashlight and slipped it into her pocket. "You were in the drugs unit?"

"Yeah, coming on ten years."

An uncomfortable feeling settled into the pit of Maura's stomach. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, trying to gather herself. When Jane touched her shoulder, Maura let out the briefest yelp.

"You okay?"

"I'm sorry," Maura said. She opened her eyes again. "What year is it?"

"Twenty-seventeen."

"And you've only just joined homicide."

"That's right."

"Okay." Maura rans her hands across the front of her dress and thrust one out in front of her. She forged a smile. "Welcome to homicide, Detective Rizzoli."

Jane took her hand, but didn't shake it. "It's Detective _Burton_."

"I'm sorry," Maura said, dropping her hand at her side and rushing out of the room and back through the overgrown garden.

She stopped at her car. She leaned against the door, her heart raced faster than usual. She felt sick. Nothing was right. How had everything changed overnight? The cold night air filled her lungs with icy breath, making her chest ache. She stood upright once more, straightened out her dress, and returned to work.

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 **Author Note : I would apologise...but the idea is the idea and who am I to tell my brain the idea needs changing?!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author Note : Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing the first chapter. I know this one is a bit different. It's probably not going to be a very long fic, maybe five chapters. Part of me wishes I hadn't got into it, but I have, so I'll have to see it through.**

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"You look like a ghost, you sure you're okay?" Jane asked, hovering behind Maura.

With the help of a crime scene assistant, they rolled the body over, and she checked the woman's back for further injuries. "I'm fine."

"You're not fooling anyone with the fine," Jane said. "That's what I say when I'm pissed, or upset, or…anything other than fine, really."

Gritting her teeth, Maura ignored Jane's desire to fill every silence with conversation. It hurt too much knowing she couldn't look into her eyes and know she knew all there was to know about her. The husband, the job, what else was different? Tears gathered on the edges of her eyes. She squeezed them closed in an attempt to ward off the depth of emotion. "I have to focus on my work."

"Alright."

Back at Boston Police Department, Maura stood in her office, confused by the décor which matched her apartment but didn't match where she was at in her head. It was like she'd maintained a level of her youth that she'd chosen to rid herself of many years ago. She had six missed calls from a number she didn't recognise but her cell claimed was from Otto, along with a message that she quickly deleted.

"Don't leave dirty messages on my phone," she said, when he answered a moment later. "I'm at work."

"I wanted a bit of help," he said.

"With what?"

"You know."

Frowning, she sat down behind her desk. "No, I don't."

"I can't help it if my morning wood won't go, I blame you," he said, his tone light and a chuckle escaped.

"That is nothing to do with me."

He paused. Maura stayed silent. "What's up with ya? Ya sound like ya've got a stick up yer ass. Last week you played along, why not now?"

"Do you mind?" she asked, gritting her teeth. "I don't appreciate your vulgarity. What I did last week is not a precedent for the future."

"Ya didn't seem to mind it last night when I had my tongue up your," he began, but she quickly cut him off.

"Stop. Please, Otto. Stop. I can't help you. I expect you to have gone by the time I get back to my apartment."

"Spoilsport."

She hung up the phone and changed into her scrubs. The autopsy was her priority, if only so that she could go upstairs to speak with Jane and try to figure out what was going on.

"Kent!" she said, entering the examination room, her lips curved at the edges. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He grinned back and for the briefest moment, she thought he might just be the same Kent she'd left the day before.

"What's got you so chirpy, and hands on?"

"I'm glad to see you," she said, narrowing her eyes.

"Let's just get to work, shall we? Less of the hugs more of the mug...shots."

She sighed. Disappointed. Even Kent was different. The one person she expected to be the same, and he acted like she was behaving strangely for being glad to see him.

"Nothing wrong with a bit of light conversation while we work," she said, slipping on a pair of gloves.

"Really?" he raised an eyebrow and snapped on his own pair. "That's not what you said when you interviewed me. You made it clear that work came before jokes."

"I…" She sighed again. "Maybe I was wrong."

"Detective Burton has requested to sit in during the autopsy; Sergeant Korsak seems to think it's a necessary step in her induction into homicide."

"Sergeant Korsak? He told me he was Detective Korsak."

Kent paused, his hand resting on the side of the examination table. He glanced at Maura, his eyebrows tugged together. "Are you feeling alright, Doctor Isles?"

"I'm feeling healthy," she said, conscious of the words she used. "Why?"

"Everyone knows Sergeant Korsak has just been promoted, he probably just forgot. It took ten years for them to finally give him the job after being passed over and over by countless other detectives. Remember?"

"I…I suppose I've been a little stressed lately. My memory has been a problem today."

The examination room door opened and Jane stalked in. Her dark, long curls gathered around her shoulders and on down her back. A breath caught in Maura's throat. It took everything in her not to step forward and pull her into her arms. But the memory of their earlier conversations was still fresh in mind and she couldn't shake the uncomfortable feelings it had provoked.

"Morning, Detective," Kent said, bowing his head slightly. He picked up a scalpel and looked to Maura. "Shall we?"

By the time the body was returned to a relatively previous state, Jane was sat on a chair looking a little peaky. Maura snapped off her gloves and retrieved a glass of water and a ginger cookie from her cupboard and handed them over.

"First autopsy?"

"Yeah," Jane said, slouching forward. "I don't know how you do it. It's not like I've never seen a body before, just not like that."

"They're not all so difficult on the nose," Maura said, smiling. Kent carried the tray of tools over to the sink and set about disinfecting them. Maura pulled up a chair and sat beside Jane. "The level of decay is the problem. Your next one probably won't be a decaying body."

"God, I hope not." She nibbled the cookie. "Thanks."

"I apologise for sounding so…unusual, earlier," Maura said, reaching a hand out to Jane's knee then thinking better of it. She lifted it up to her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze, regretting the physical contact within seconds. "I've had a stressful day, I didn't anticipate it to be so…difficult."

"It's fine," Jane said, shrugging.

"Really?"

"Nah." Jane shook her head. "I dunno. It's been weird for me too. I thought I was ready for homicide, but maybe I'm making a mistake."

"Why would you say that?"

"I needed a change from all the undercover work," she said. "Danny needs me to be home more. I don't think homicide was the right way to go about getting that."

"Danny's your husband?"

"My son."

Choking on the air, Maura stood up and walked a couple of feet away from Jane. It was hard enough knowing she was married, but to have a child, she couldn't breathe. She stopped beside the body, gripping hold of the metal table to steady herself long enough to breathe deeply.

"You alright?" Jane asked, standing up. "You look worse than I feel."

"Yeah," Maura whispered, forcing air into her lungs. "I probably just need lunch."

"You wanna go to the Dirty Robber?"

Narrowing her eyes, Maura stared at her. "With you?"

"Yeah. I was gonna grab a burger."

"Okay."

x

Maura couldn't remember the last time she felt so uncomfortable in Jane's presence. The silence overshadowed every possible feeling of happiness. She felt like a stranger trapped in her girlfriend's body. Except she wasn't her girlfriend. She was a wife, and a mother, and Maura didn't know how to have that conversation.

"You like cutting up bodies?" Jane asked, sipping a bottle of low alcohol beer.

Shrugging, Maura focused her attention on the glass of soda water in front of her. At least some things never changed. Had it been after work she'd have happily gone for her usual glass of wine.

"It's a vocation," she said.

"I used to think that," Jane said, swirling the beer around its bottle.

Narrowing her eyes, Maura leaned against the table. "I thought you loved being a cop."

"Why would you think that?"

"I don't know." She grimaced. She knew more about Jane than Jane realised and that was problematic. "I suppose you seem like you do. You've been doing it for a long time, you've worked through the ranks."

"Yeah." Jane took another sip of her drink and shrugged. "I guess things changed when Danny was born."

"How old is he?"

"Three." She slipped her cell phone out of her pocket and Maura steadied herself for the obligatory photography. The screen lit up, a toddler grinned on the screen. His dark brown hair was straight, much straighter than Maura anticipated, and he had the biggest, bluest eyes Maura had seen on a child with such an olive skin tone. "He changed everything, you know?"

"I can imagine."

"You got kids?"

"No."

"You every wanted them?"

"More than you could imagine."

"Probably." Jane sighed. "Before I got pregnant I didn't think I could do it. Not being a detective. It's hard work, and he deserves better than me going to work til all hours."

"I'm sure you're a wonderful mother," Maura said, her sincerity was the only thing that felt real all day. "He's lucky."

Jane frowned. "You don't even know me."

"No." Maura slouched back against her seat. Her heart broke. The child was beautiful. He looked happy and good natured and everything she expected a child of Jane's would look like. But he was a symbol of another world. A world she wasn't even part of. "I don't."

"So, what do you like to do, Doctor Isles?"

"What do you mean?"

"When you're not working, what do you do? Play sport, run marathons, gamble all your money on the slot machines?"

"I..." Maura paused. She didn't know how to answer Jane's question. She knew what she did in the world where she was with Jane. In the world without her? Maybe she was different too. She'd slept with Otto, after all. A man. She hadn't thought about men in years. Not since she set her sights on Jane. They occasionally showed an interest and she occasionally gave in to her desires for physical contact, but all it had been in two years was Jane. "I don't know."

"How can you not know?" Jane asked, frowning.

Maura shrugged. "You could say I'm going through a transition. I'm open to new possibilities."

"What sort of things do you like? Baseball?"

"I...yes," she answered in earnest. Before Jane she didn't pay much attention to the sport. Since being dragged along and being invited to play a couple of times, she found her own way of enjoying the game. Not nearly as much as Jane did, but that never mattered to either of them. "I like to travel. I've been to Tanzania and worked at a medical centre."

"There you go," Jane said. "That's more than me, I've barely been out of the state."

"You've not even been to Italy?"

The first long vacation they ever took together was a trip to Italy, to visit the region where Jane's family were from. She couldn't always give Jane everything she needed out of a girlfriend, but the one thing she could do was that.

"Nah. Never really thought about it."

"But you always..." Maura stopped herself. "Italy is beautiful. You should go, your son should see where his family came from."

"I'm beginning to think you're a better detective than I am."

"I read a lot." Maura emptied the last of her soda water into her mouth and swallowed. She was treading on dangerous ground. The more she said, the harder it was to hide the things she knew. "I should get back to work."

"Alright." Jane sunk her beer and bashed it down on the table. "We should do this again."

"I'd like that."

On the one hand the very thought made her want to cry, to spend time with the person she loved but couldn't be with. But on the other hand she couldn't bare the thought of not being in her life. Even if that meant never being together.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author Notes : I'm sorry it's taking so long to update at the moment, it's not easy because I don't have my desk and I much prefer writing at a desk. I start my new job tomorrow, so it's going to be a very busy 2/3 weeks - I barely have any days off between my two jobs (one job having two roles, so technically three jobs) plus volunteering that I do. I hope to finish this story son, though. Fingers crossed everything is okay with our new house and we can move in soon.**

* * *

The one thing that hadn't changed was paperwork. It was the same in this reality as it was in any other. Maura tapped away at her laptop keyboard, ignoring the buzzing of her cellphone on the desk. Otto had tried ringing her and after lunch with Jane, she just didn't have the energy to entertain her supposed sexual partner. She lifted her gaze to Kent, hovering in the doorway, with a piece of paper.

"I've got the results from the tox screen on the Armagh case," he said.

She narrowed her eyes slightly; she had no idea which case he was referring to. She resisted the urge to share that fact, or appear more interested than she needed to be. He expected a frosty, less friendly approach to her position and she wasn't going to risk blowing her cover. "Leave it on my desk."

He entered the office. Maura refocused her attention on her keyboard. The piece of paper appeared in front of her and she nodded confirmation that she'd seen it. As quickly as he appeared, Kent left the room.

Ten minutes later, a knock on the door pulled her from reading up on the Armagh case; the death of a young woman in police custody. The tox screen results showed very little, leaving her stumped.

"What is it, Kent?" she asked, barely glancing up. When she did, her eyes landed on Jane Rizzoli. "I'm sorry. I thought you were..."

"It's fine," Jane said. She bounced from one foot to the other. Unsure of whether the Maura in this world was any better at social cues, she didn't comment. Reaching to the space beside her, Jane pulled a small child out from behind the wall and into the room. She shrugged. "My kid."

"Oh."

He was as beautiful as his photograph suggested, and not at all like Jane in the way he carried himself. Then again, his cheeks were pale and his eyes darted about like he didn't know where to look. But the reason for Jane bringing him to see her was what made her feel the worst of all. Was this some attempt to show off? Maura felt sickness bubbling in the pit of her stomach.

"His Nonna brought him in," Jane said. "He was at daycare but he got sick. She has to work, and his dad is in a meeting for a couple hours."

"You want me to watch him?" Maura asked, confused by the whole situation.

Shaking her head, Jane and the boy walked toward her desk, stopping a foot from it. "I don't wanna be one of those obsessed parents who fixates on their kid's health. But there's been a bug going round. Some of his classmates have ended up in the hospital. I have time to organise a doctor's appointment, I just don't have time to take him."

"I can take him," Maura said, before she even realised what she was offering.

"I don't need you to," Jane said, leaving her relieved. She loved children, but spending time with a sick child she didn't know wasn't high on her priority list. Especially not the child Jane had had with someone else. "You're a doctor, right? Could you check him out?"

She frowned. She didn't know what was happening in this reality as far as her biological parents were concerned. Finding her biological mother was so tied into Jane. Of course, that didn't mean she didn't have any current practical experience with living patients.

"I work with the dead," she said. The look in Jane's eyes hit her right in the heart. She'd seen that expression on mothers who came in to identify their children's bodies. "But I can try. I'm a little out of practice."

"That doesn't matter," Jane said. She picked up the boy and lifted him onto the chair opposite the desk. "Do what the doctor asks, okay, Danny?"

He nodded his peaky face. Maura slipped around her desk and retrieved the medical bag she took with her everywhere. She just hoped that the Maura in this reality had experienced living patients enough to make the decision she had to carry some life savings pieces of equipment.

"Let's see what we have in here," she said, opening her bag. She knelt down on the floor and leaned towards him. "I need you to open your mouth really wide for me, can you do that?"

He nodded again and opened his mouth as wide as it would go. She analysed everything in his throats that mattered, then took his temperature.

"Do you know what strain of bug it is that's going round?"

"Strain?" Jane looked dumbfounded, at least this Jane had something in common with her own.

"Is it gastrointestinal?" Her expression barely faltered. "Is it a stomach bug? Sickness, diarrhoea?"

"Yeah. Loads of the kids got sick. He threw up once at daycare and..."

As if on cue, the little boy leaned over, his stomach contents spilled out onto the floor and across Maura's shoes. She cleared her throat and stood up. Jane wrapped her arms around his shoulders, holding him close despite the amount of vomit on his face and knees.

"Most gastrointestinal illnesses are viruses and not bacterial infections. The second most common illness in children is gastroenteritis, so it's likely that, probably caused by a virus. I would recommend plenty of fluids, a nice comfortable bed or couch, and a favourite stuffed animal or Mommy or Daddy to cuddle. If his fever persists give him painkillers suitable for his age to bring down his temperature."

"Okay."

Maura walked into the examination room and retrieved a bottle of disinfectant and paper towels. Before she could get through the door, Jane snatched them out of her hands and proceeded I clean up. This Jane certainly wasn't bothered by a little sickness.

"Once he's feeling a little better return him to his regular diet. For now soup, fruit and vegetables, and oatmeal."

"Thanks, Doc. This is all I need on my first day in homicide," she said, groaning with every scrub of the floor. "Korsak's already pis...angry that he's here. It's a good job my boss in the drug unit gave me such a good reference."

"Sick children can't be helped," Maura said. "Especially ones who go to day care. If you'd like to leave him down here with me, I can monitor his temperature and fluid intake, and he can rest on the couch."

"I can't," Jane said. "It wouldn't be fair on you to leave you with my kid."

Maura smiled. "Get him settled, if he'll sleep, it's only for a couple of hours, isn't it?"

"Thanks, Doctor Isles."

x

Danny slept soundly on the couch while Maura tapped away at her keyboard, analysing the autopsy results of their recent case. She lifted her gaze every few minutes, checking that he was okay, before returning her focus. After an hour, Kent hovered in the doorway. He narrowed his eyes at the child on the couch, though didn't comment. Maura slipped out of the room and closed the door.

"What is it, Kent?" she asked, following him a few feet down the corridor.

"The reddish brown stains are definitely blood. AB positive." He handed her a printed document. "Should help with identification."

"I'll see if Ja...Detective...Burton is any closer to identification," Maura said, taking the paper and heading for the elevator. She paused. "Kent, can you watch her son? He's got a stomach bug, he's sleeping."

"I wondered about that," he muttered, crossing one arm over the other. He raised an eyebrow. "That's not like you...I'll watch him."

She nodded and turned tail. The elevator doors opened a moment later and she made her way up to the homicide unit.

"Where's Danny?" Jane asked, standing up the second Maura entered the office. "Is he okay?"

"He's sleeping," Maura said. "Kent is watching him."

"Who the fuck is Kent and why is he watching my son?"

Taken aback, Maura pursed her lips. Despite the difference in their relationship status, she still trusted Kent. Jane marched past her. Maura glanced at Korsak, who frowned, then scurried off in the direction Jane had gone.

"Danny's fine," Maura said. "I wouldn't have left him if I didn't trust Kent."

Jane turned around, her face red. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. The elevator doors opened and a tall man with brown hair and pale eyes stepped out, his eyes frantically moving about inside his head.

"Jane, where's Daniel?" he asked, stepping towards them.

"We were just going," Jane muttered, retreating from the elevator slightly as its doors closed. Maura watched the brief exchange. "He's sleeping."

"I'll take him now," he said, looking towards the homicide unit offices.

"He's downstairs," Maura said.

The man glared at her. She stared back, unsure of what was happening. He looked angry, and yet all they'd done was make sure his son was safe and as healthy as possible.

"Jane," he said again.

She pressed the elevator button again. When the doors opened she stepped inside, motioning for the man to follow. Maura hesitated, but stepped inside with them.

"What the hell is going on, Jane?" he asked, leaning close to her. Maura stayed still, watching their reflection in the mirrored doors. Jane shrugged and the man shook his head.

The doors opened a moment later. Maura stepped out of the elevator. "Daniel is sleeping in my office."

He glanced at Jane again, his eyes full of emotions that Maura couldn't quite describe. The tightness of Jane's jaw made her wonder if she'd be better not saying a word. The three of them moved across the corridor towards her office. Without looking, she waved her arm out across to the couch.

"Where is he?" the man asked.

Maura looked to the couch where she'd left him, her eyes bugged as the space was empty. She turned around and rushed across to the other side of the room.

Jane followed. "Where is he, Maura?"

"He probably just woke up," she said, opening the blinds and looking out across the examination room. Kent stood on the far side tending to a body. Her heart sunk. The boy was nowhere in sight. She ran into the room, ignoring the fraught voice of the boy's father. "Kent, where is Daniel?"

"Who?" he asked. He leaned over the body with a magnifying glass. "Does that look like a cigarette burn to you?"

"Yes," Maura said. "Where is Jane's son?"

"Sleeping," he said, trailing the glass across another scar on the body.

"He's not sleeping," Maura said.

Kent shrugged, his nonchalance bothered her but she didn't have the time, nor the energy to berate him for it. Jane and her husband were staring at her, worry etched across their faces.

"He went to the bathroom," Maura said, forging a story she wasn't sure she could carry forward. She walked out of the door at the other end of the room and out through the lab. Jane and the man caught her up and they checked the toilets together.

"Jane, this is ridiculous," the man said. "You can't just palm Daniel off on strangers, this is what happens. Do you even know this woman?"

"She's a colleague; Doctor Maura Isles."

"Queen of the Dead?" Maura winced. He turned his attention on her. "Do you even like children?"

"Of course." She shook her head. "He was sleeping. Jane asked me to provide a diagnosis and then I offered to watch him. I know Jane has been busy with her work."

"Then where the hell is he?" he asked, folding his arms. His temple pulsed repeatedly. The closer he got, the more intimidated she felt. "What have you done to our son?"

She slouched back, petrified by the fear in his eyes. He wrapped a hand around each of her shoulders and shook her back and forth.

"Daddy?"

The boy's voice sounded like birdsong on a peaceful morning. He dropped his hands from Maura's shoulders and pushed past her. He ran down the corridor and scooped the child up into his arms. Jane followed, wrapping her arms around them both. Standing to one side, Maura watched the family in their reunion. She swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. She wanted to hate this, but she couldn't. Jane looked happy, her son looked happy, and that mattered more than Maura ever expected.

"We can't keep doing this," the man shouted, pushing Jane away and holding the boy close.

Jane stepped back, breathed deeply, as though readying herself for something. Maura frowned. "Al, please."

"No." He picked Daniel up and rested him on his hip. "I'm taking Daniel home. Then I'm going to call my lawyer. This world isn't suitable for him."

"No, Al," Jane shouted, gripping his arm as he tried to walk away. "Don't do this."

"You've left me no choice." He lifted Daniel forward. "Say bye to Mommy."

"Bye Mommy," he said, wrapping his arms around her neck.

She kissed his cheek and stepped away. Al carried Daniel towards the elevator. Maura didn't move. Jane watched them until the door closed. Then she leaned forward, her shoulder's shook.

"Jane?"

"I'm fine," she whispered, swiping the back of her hand across her cheeks. "Thanks for your help."

"I didn't…" Maura began, but Jane had already stepped into the empty elevator. "I'm sorry."


	4. Chapter 4

**Author Note: This story was never going to be long, and I know it's kind of random, but it is what it is and this is how it's going to end. It maybe could have been something more, something bigger, but it was only ever a stop gap I suppose. Now I could do with focusing on the story I wish to finish completely before I share it. I've been working on it on/off for a while. This will be the first time got a little while that I won't have a story on the go! I started my new job, which should mean I'm too exhausted to do anything like writing. But I walk quite a bit now, meaning I have time to write as long as it's not raining!**

 **Onwards to the final part of this story...**

* * *

The Dirty Robber was crammed full of people when Maura walked in. She expected nothing less from Korsak, if he even owned it. She'd seen him on her way out of the police department, but there was no sight of him now. She made her way through the crowd towards the bar. Ducking below a low flying arm, she narrowly missed a glass of beer to the chest.

"May I have a glass of Pinot Grigio?" The bartender, who definitely wasn't Angela Rizzoli, pushed the glass in front of her and she exchanged it for cash. "Thank you."

Turning around, Maura watched a crowd of men she vaguely recognised as uniformed officers. A woman sat on the sidelines looking utterly bored and completely alone. She resisted the urge to introduce herself when she spotted Jane, sat alone at their booth, fighting off anyone who dared I sit opposite her.

"May I...?" Maura began, but she only cut her off.

"No." Jane lifted her gaze and stared into her eyes, lingering there a moment longer than she expected. "Sorry. Sit down."

She sat. Silence descended over them. She sipped her wine, noting the familiar taste as she usually did. "I'm sorry about earlier."

"Why?" Jane asked.

"I should never have offered to watch Danny."

"I accepted your offer."

"Your husband was very angry."

"He's always angry." She shrugged. "He's not my husband. Not anymore."

"Oh." A sense of relief settled in the pit of Maura's stomach and she hated herself for it. Daniel was going to grow up in a broken family. That wasn't something to be glad about. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. He's an ass."

"I'm sorry for Daniel."

"Danny."

"Danny."

"I'm sorry that your relationship didn't work out."

"Me too." Jane took a long swig of her beer and ran her fingers through her hair. She looked exhausted. The sigh that followed only supported that supposition.

"It's busy in here," Maura said. "Would you like to go somewhere quieter?"

Jane shrugged. "Like where?"

"I..." She considered the options but was left with few. They never went to other bars, and even though they had, Maura wasn't sure they existed in this reality. She also knew the reaction of 'her' Jane to visiting them. "My home. I probably don't have any beer, but I can guarantee there will be wine."

"Sold!" Jane said, downing the bottle of beer and standing up.

Maura hesitated. Her glass was half empty. She swilled a mouthful and abandoned the rest, if only to ensure they both arrived at her apartment sober enough to be safe.

x

After a few wrong turns, Maura parked up in her designated spot and shut off the engine. She led the way to her front door, silently praying to no God that Otto wouldn't be there, and if he was, he wouldn't be naked. Jane followed without a word. A tension lingered in the air. The second they got into the apartment, Jane pounced on Maura, her jacket fell to the floor, her tongue pushed firmly into her mouth.

Taken aback, Maura pushed her shoulders until she untangled herself.

"I'm sorry," Jane whispered, picking up her jacket and heading for the door.

Maura wrapped a hand around her upper arm and held her still. "You don't need to go."

"I shouldn't have done that."

Swallowing a lump in her throat, Maura bit her tongue. There was so much she wanted to say, yet no words felt suitable.

"My head is a mess." Jane trailed her jacket over the back of the couch and sat down, slouching against the cushions. She covered her face with her hands. "I don't know what came over me."

"It's okay." Maura perched beside her. She reached out to her hand, then thought better of it, resting it against her other hand in her lap.

"It's not okay." Jane's voice sounded more and more dejected. "I keep fucking up. I don't know how to not."

"How have you...fucked...up?"

"Kissing you."

"Let's pretend for a moment," Maura said, showing her brightest smile. "Pretend that kissing me isn't a problem. What have you done?"

Jane closed her eyes and leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. She breathed in deeply then let it out slowly. "I told Al that I like women."

"Okay." The 'revelation' made perfect sense, not least because they'd been through something similar before they got together. "Anything else?"

"I slept with someone from work."

Maura purses her lips. "Before or after the end of your marriage?"

"Erm," Jane chewed on her lip. "Before and after?"

"Were you unhappy in your relationship?"

"Yeah."

"I don't condone cheating," she said, honestly. "But there are some situations where it makes more sense that it's occurred."

"I didn't cheat!"

Maura frowned. "Oh. I don't understand."

"We were separated. Technically we were still married. It was a temporary separation. That's what I kept telling myself."

Taking a moment for Jane's words to sink in, Maura sat up a little straighter. She reached out and gripped her fingers. "I don't believe you've fucked anything up, Jane. If your ex-husband has a problem with your sexuality, he wasn't good enough for you to begin with."

"That's nice of you to say."

"I'm not just saying it."

"But I kissed you."

Clearing her threat, Maura found Jane's honesty to be something that inspired her. She knew it was ridiculous and it didn't make sense, but she trusted Jane implicitly. "If I tell you something, will you promise not to think I'm mentally unstable?"

Jane narrowed her eyes. "Depends what it is."

"That's not good enough." Maura dropped Jane's hand. "What I'm about to tell you will make you think I'm mentally unstable, I need you to promise me you won't think differently of me."

"I barely know you," Jane said. "If you sound crazy, I won't hold it against you."

"Okay." Maura sighed. "We don't barely know each other."

"What?"

"Not where I'm from."

"What do you mean? You're from here, aren't you?"

"Yes. No." Maura took her hand again. "I don't know what happened. We just got engaged, then we went to bed and when I woke up I was here."

Letting go of her hand, Jane stared at her, confusion etched across her face. "What are you taking about?"

"Where I'm from, we were together. We're in love."

"You're right," Jane said, standing up. She marched across the room and stood beneath one of Maura's biggest paintings. "You do sound crazy."

Maura stood, but kept her distance. "I know it sounds unbelievable. I don't know how to explain it. I'm a scientist. This is outside of my realm of understanding. Of belief. I wish I could tell you that it makes sense to me. That it doesn't matter. But it does matter, Jane. When I thought you were married I didn't think of even considering telling you. But now I know you're not happy...we were happy."

"Look," Jane whispered, tottering from foot to foot. "No disrespect, but I don't know you, and you don't know me."

"I know you love the Red Sox," Maura said.

"Born and raised in Boston," she said, shaking her head. "Lucky guess."

"I know that when you get down you shut yourself away from other people. You go to the Robber, or you go somewhere that matters to you."

Sighing, Jane continued to shake her head. "So do most people."

She paused. She looked deeper into everything she knew about Jane. Then it hit her. "I know your mother is called Angela. You love her but she's completely overbearing. At least she was until she found out she was going to be a grandmother. Then she probably fussed over you until it drove you crazy."

"Yeah she did," Jane whispered, a grin spread across her face. It quickly faded and she stared up at Maura. "How the hell did you know all that?"

"I'm telling the truth." Maura stepped closer. "I know you have two brothers. Frankie was born first, then Tommy. You fight all the time but you love each other in the way only siblings can. Frankie followed you into the police. I don't know if he made detective in this reality, but in mine he works alongside you in Homicide."

"He works in the drug unit."

"Tommy, in my world, has a child with a woman named ... but you only found out who she was because your father cheated on your mother."

"That..." Jane narrowed her eyes. "Are you one of those mentalist people? Psychic?"

"I've told you," Maura said. "I don't believe in the supernatural. I'm a scientist. I don't believe in psychics. Though now I'm doubting everything I believe."

Staring into her eyes, Jane didn't look away. Maura held her gaze until it became too painful to look into her face.

"You're not lying," Jane said.

"No. I'm not."

A long silence fell between them. Maura watched Jane's expression, searching for some

Sign that she was about to flea. She didn't really know how to do this. She'd dated many people, had taken several of them home before. She'd never had to court the same person twice, least not someone she was deeply in love with:

"How about some wine?" she asked, looking away briefly before she faced Jane's response.

"Sure."

x

A bottle of wine later, and Maura's lack of confidence in dealing with the situation fluttered away. She lowered a hand onto Jane's knee as laughter escaped her mouth. This Jane was funny, funnier maybe than her own. She tried to move away from the thought that this Jane wasn't hers. She wasn't. But the possibility lingered and she hoped Jane felt it too. She didn't move her hand. Instead, she slid it a little higher along her thigh. Without a word, Jane shifted in her seat, never letting Maura's hand drift away for even the briefest second.

"I can stop," Maura whispered, leaning so close she knew her breath could be felt on Jane's cheek.

Jane turned her head and stared into her eyes. "No."

No more words passed between them as Maura's hand slid further up her leg. Jane's lips were right there, her eyes watched her. Moving between her lips and eyes. Maura followed her lead. She consciously licked her lips, making sure that Jane's eyes were on her mouth. When she stopped, and Jane looked up again, she held her gaze.

"I'm not making it up, am I?" Jane asked, a crease formed between her eyebrows.

"Making what up?"

"This feeling."

"No."

Closing her eyes, Jane lowered her eyes. Maura breathed in, hoping that her breath would be necessary. A second later, almost unexpectedly, Jane's lips collided with hers and she responded instantly. Every movement of her mouth provoke a reaction that Maura knew like her own body. She teased and battled, pushing Jane back against the couch so that she could capture her lips, and feed every desire.

They writhed together on the couch, fumbling with clothing and skin, giving in to every feeling until they'd both reached the crescendo of their emotions.

On a blanket on the floor, Maura trailed her finger down Jane's arm and peppered fresh kisses along her collarbone.

"I believe you," Jane whispered, turning against her body and pushing her leg up between Maura's.

"You do?"

Smirking, Jane kissed her again. "Nobody can fuck like that without knowing someone."

x

A cell phone rang out in the distance. Maura groaned. Her head hurt and she wasn't ready to get up. She squeezed her eyes tightly closed. Feeling around, she felt the blanket beneath her, and the warmth of Jane's body at her side. A smile crept up on her face. Dreams were funny things. They made little sense, and yet, it had all felt so real.

"Burton," Jane mumbled, stopping the ringing in its tracks.

Maura froze. She turned into her other side and finally opened her eyes. For the briefest moment on wake up, it felt like she'd returned to her own reality. But maybe there was no such thing. What if her other life was the dream and this was a reality she'd merely not been able to remember effectively.

"Sorry," Jane whispered, looping an arm across Maura and brushing her hair back from her face. She leaned in and kissed her, exuding all the passion they'd had the night before and so much more. "Duty calls."

"I wish it wouldn't call so early," Maura said.

"Me too." Jane climbed on top of her, pinning her back against the blanket. She lifted Maura's left hand up and tangled it with her own. Two rings, one on each hand, confused and thrilled her.

"I'm confused," she said, sitting up, pushing Jane back down on her knees. "One minute I'm engaged to you, the next I'm meeting you for the first time and everything's changed. Now we're engaged again but in another world?"

"What are you talking about, Maura?" Jane asked, the slightest crease of her eyebrows followed a smirk. "I probably should have answered my phone differently now that we're married."

"How much did I have to drink last night?"

"Just enough that you made our first night as a married couple the wildest it's ever been," Jane grinned. "I'm so glad Al agreed to take Danny this weekend."

"We're married," Maura whispered. "And we still have Danny."

"Course." Jane shook her head and ran her hands across Maura's hair. "Did you get an owie?"

Laughing, Maura shook her head, then groaned. She'd definitely had more than she intended to the night before.

"I have to get ready for work," Jane said, climbing off her.

Maura tried to get up, but Jane pushed her back down. She ran her hands across Maura's enlarged abdomen. The slightest movement inside of her made her jump. "Not you. Not until our baby is here."

"Okay," Maura said, lying back down and closing her eyes.

Maybe if she went to sleep again, she'd finally remember everything she'd seemed to have forgotten.

* * *

 **The End**


End file.
